Abstract

Detection of circulating tumor cells has emerged as
a promising minimally invasive diagnostic and prognostic
tool for patients with metastatic cancers. We report a novel
three dimensional microfilter device that can enrich viable
circulating tumor cells fromblood. This device consists of two layers of parylene membrane with pores and gap precisely
defined with photolithography. The positions of the pores are shifted between the top and bottom membranes. The bottom
membrane supports captured cells and minimize the stress
concentration on cell membrane and sustain cell viability
during filtration. Viable cell capture on device was investigated with scanning electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, and immunofluorescent staining using model systems of cultured tumor cells spiked in blood or saline. The paper presents and validates this new 3D microfiltration concept for circulation tumor cell enrichment application. The device provides a highly valuable tool for assessing and characterizing viable enriched circulating tumor cells in both research and clinical settings.